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Our main purpose in worship is to contemplate and celebrate the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Our gatherings focus on hearing from God and responding to him. We know the Lord through his Word, and so we come together corporately to pursue him through reading, preaching, singing, praying, and “seeing” the truth of the Scripture. As his Holy Spirit leads us in understanding and pondering the seriousness of our sin, we are also reminded of what a great Savior we have in Jesus and the joy of living for his kingdom in the fellowship of other believers. As we affirm our faith together, our hearts are strengthened to serve him throughout the week.

Preaching. Our church is always being reformed according to the Word of God. Since faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ from a preacher, the preaching of God’s Word is at the center of our congregation’s corporate gathering (Romans 10:14, 17). Our preaching is expository in that our pastors seek to proclaim faithfully the intended meaning of the Scriptures. In order to expound the whole counsel of God, the main diet of our pulpit is expository series through entire Bible books, alternating between testaments, genres, authors, and themes (Acts 20:27; 2 Timothy 3:16–4:2). This allows God himself to set the agenda for our church.

Singing. We seek to select “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” of worship that are Christ-centered and biblically rich (Colossians 3:16). We believe there are many songs from various times in history that both honor God and build up the church. In light of this, it isn’t uncommon to hear a song from the 1600s in the same service with a song from today. Since Scripture emphasizes corporate singing in the worship gathering (Ephesians 5:19), our goal is for the congregation itself to be the “church choir.” Therefore, our music seeks to accompany the voices of the congregation. We also provide opportunities for special music from our members. Whatever form the music takes, we want our worship to help you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

Praying. We publicly devote ourselves to prayer as an expression of our dependence on the Lord. We praise God for who he is (Psalm 29:2), confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness (1 John 1:9), offer thanks to God for all of the blessings he gives us (Psalm 107:1), make requests of him (Matthew 7:7–11), and intercede with him on behalf of others (Philippians 4:6). We seek to pray not only for the needs of our church, but also for the needs of other churches in the area. We pray for our county and its officials, our state, our country, and even other countries around the world (1 Timothy 2:1–4). Since Christ ransomed peoples from all over the globe, we seek to be global Christians. Therefore, we desire that our prayers reflect this conviction.

Giving. We believe giving is an act of worship whereby we give out of the abundance of what God has given us. We do not expect non-members to give and we never pressure anyone to give. But we want to provide an opportunity for everyone to receive joy in the act of giving (Acts 20:35).

Observing the Ordinances. We see the gracious work of God displayed visibly to us through celebrating baptisms and the Lord’s Supper. Scripture teaches that there are two ordinances of the church: baptism (Matthew 28:18–20) and the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23–28). Baptism is the public declaration of a believer’s allegiance to Jesus and his/her symbolic identification with his death, burial, and resurrection. We practice baptism during our normal Sunday service, as occasion allows. The Lord’s Supper is when the church remembers the broken body and spilled blood of Christ for her sake, as we eat bread and drink from the fruit of the vine. It is a symbolic reminder of what Christ accomplished for sinners and an occasion whereby we look forward to his return. We practice the Lord’s Supper six times a year (one Sunday in the even months) during our normal worship gathering.

We want you to come just as you are. We are here for you, no matter how you’re dressed. So wear whatever you like because there is no dress code. You’ll find a variety of dress among our members. Most people wear whatever makes them comfortable. That usually changes from week to week depending on the weather, and some people like to dress up for special holidays. But as long as you are wearing clothes, we are happy. The only encouragement in attire is that it is modest and appropriate. We want to care for one another by not dressing in a distracting way, so that we can hear from God’s Word unhindered (1 Peter 3:3–4).

We love you AND we love your children. Jesus wanted all of the children to come to him (Matthew 19:14), and we feel the same way about your kids. Our hope is that your young ones will sing and pray right along with the rest of us.

We do, however, offer children’s classes for all ages during the Sunday School hour and nursery during the Morning Service for children ages 2 years old and under. At First Baptist Church, providing a safe environment for children to learn about Jesus is our top priority. All childcare volunteers are church members who have been screened, interviewed, and trained before being allowed to serve. Most of the children’s ministry volunteers are moms and dads themselves. They follow a strict policy and have a lot of fun!

If you do not feel comfortable sending your child to children’s ministry, you are free to keep your child in the service with you, and many families choose to do this. We also have a nursing room if you need space to feed your little one during the service.

Fill in the blank with whatever you fear would make you unwelcome: divorced, single parent, broke, recovering addict, atheist, skeptic, etc. Whether you grew up in church, have never been to church, consider yourself a follower of Jesus, or just have questions, we’d love for you to attend.

Please visit our service schedule for more information.